Haunted Mazes will be Upcharge Tickets!

Seems Cedar Point has decided that all of the previously included Haunted Mazes will be an up charge ticket for Halloweekends this year!!

Thursdays & Sundays are $10 for the Haunted Pass/ $29 for the Priority Access Pass (including the conjuring)

Fridays are $20/$34

Saturdays are $30/$49

This is just the haunted attraction prices- you still need a park ticket or season pass as well to get into the park.

I hate the added money grab- but maybe this will make the crowds more manageable than they have been in years past. Would be nice if they were included or at least offered at a discount for Prestige Passes at least...

It’ll still be slammed. Guess now we know why they didn’t mind selling passes for cheap. They gonna make that money up somewhere.

The price gouging is getting out of hand. I went to The Ohio State Fair and was in sticker shock. Never mind the prices for food and drinks. An all-day ride wristband is $37. If you only want to ride a couple of rides you must purchase a $20 wristband. That is enough "credits" for 3 rides. That is right, $5 per ride. Even with inflation figured in, it was never this expensive to go to the fairs or Cedar Point.

There is also a Hanuted Maze Season Pass add-on for $69 at Cedar Point or $59 at Kings Island. It is not an all-park on though- so if you plan to visit both multiple times you would have to buy separately.

GL2CP:

It’ll still be slammed.

This, exactly. Legacy Six Flags parks have been upcharging haunts for years now, and it has never been an obstacle to the crowds. There are still very long lines for the haunts, even at a $30 price point for them. I'm frankly a little surprised that Cedar Fair kept them included in normal gate admission as long as they did.

And I can't agree that it's price gouging. They are providing additional experiences during the Halloween season for which they have previously given away for no extra charge. Now they are charging more for them. If you don't want to pay the price, then you aren't obligated to do so. We've just been spoiled up to now.

I'm not really interested in paying a bunch of money for haunted mazes, but I know they typically do well, so hopefully it helps stop the company from circling the drain.

My first instinct was bad. Why pay for something that used to be free, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. The season pass is relatively cheap, I just re upped my Carowinds Pass with All Parks, All Season Food, All Season Drinks for $350. Ill go to scarowinds 2 or 3 times. I'm sure I get the haunt pass once, but the other times Ill just be there for Fall Vibes.

CoasterHawk:

The price gouging is getting out of hand.

In my adult life it has literally never been less expensive to visit Cedar Point.

djDaemon:

CoasterHawk:

The price gouging is getting out of hand.

In my adult life it has literally never been less expensive to visit Cedar Point.

Truuuueeee! $50 for a Saturday is so cheap. In high school, I would pay $45 for a ticket. The "Gate Ticket" is $90 but I dont know anyone that pays at the gate.

I do agree it’s a bit of a sham they announced the passes will be good for halloweekends (and we all assumed it would be the same event) but now it will cost more.

While I can understand the argument that it may have been more prudent to wait until next year, it's so damn cheap to get in the park (as DJ alluded to) I think it's priced low enough that no one will really care, except maybe people that yell on Facebook, which is a pretty tiny number of folks compared to the general public that will visit.

As the years have ticked by, I've been half-expecting the park to make Halloweekends a separate gate altogether, especially as it has grown.

If anything, I think they once again are leaving money on the table and perhaps creating a new problem with the "all access". A google search told me the price of Fright Lane last year (I don't really know as I never bought it) ranged from $50-$90 last year. Now it's maxing out at last year's minimum, and people still complain.

The potential problem being that now so many people will buy the new cheap "frightlane" that the standby...well...you get the idea.

djDaemon said:

"In my adult life it has literally never been less expensive to visit Cedar Point."

Wish I could share your sentiment my friend, this coming from someone going to the park for almost 50 years now (season passes each year).

It was a heck of alot less expensive pre-covid and even just a few years back. Here's the price gouging I think some might be speaking of. Again .... all from a NON Season pass holder's perspective. Again, I have one.

1) Raising general parking from $20 to $35 in a very short time.

2) Having great drink/ chili cheese fry deals w/ a Platinum pass (buy 2 , get 2 free) and now having to pay separate for the chili, separate for the cheese, separate for the fries. It's little things like these that I've noticed. Also same things with the crazy inflation prices on the funnel cakes/ toppings. It's insane compared to other parks I've visited. And CP IS my home park. It's Disney pricing now without being Disney.

3) When your kids can't even get 2 fries/ 2 drinks for $30 now, think about that.

>40% price hike comparison. Filling your gas tank from $40 last year to $56 this year. People will complain.

$110 Saturday value last year ($90 adm/ $20 parking) to $155 this year ($90 tix/ $35 parking/ $30 now upcharge for Haunted houses). SAME exact experience, just 40% more a year later. Not price gouging? Not so sure,

I could go on and on but won't for now. Here's the issue..........*" We value the shareholders so much, we forget about the most important people critical to the park's success.....It's EMPOLYEES and customers.* This has been recently forgotten and a basic flaw in most upper management thinking. Seen it too much.

Price gouging: Raising the prices of necessary goods (food, water, gas) during a natural disaster.

Pricing to a market: Raising the prices of a non-essential recreational activity or product.

$18.00 for a single bottled water in a hurricane is gouging. $18.00 for a single bottled water in an NFL stadium is not.

Ok.... 40 % price hiking in one year. Gotcha. You can pay $18 for a bottled water. I'm not. My family of 4 isn't paying the extra $120 EACH time on a Saturday for upcharged Haunts (when we go multiple times a year/ spend a ton in the park ) when it's usually a perk with our season passes/ loyalty to the park as a consumer.

If you're turning off regulars like us, I promise you're doing it also to those consider renewing passes for next year. Just hope CP doesn't turn into Geagua Lake and go by the wayside of other formerly great Six Flags properties.

CPfan1976:

Wish I could share your sentiment my friend, this coming from someone going to the park for almost 50 years now (season passes each year).

It was a heck of alot less expensive pre-covid...

Eighteen years back, the first year a pass could get you into all the CF legacy parks plus the newly-acquired KI parks, a 2008 Platinum Pass cost $140, which would be $216 today.

A 2018 Platinum Pass cost $216, which would be $283 today.

Right now, you can get the closest equivalent to those for $168. That's $99 for the Gold Pass, plus $69 for the All Season Haunted Attractions Express Pass. The only issue I see is that if one wants Early Entry, they need to jump up to Prestige + All Season Haunted Attractions Express Pass, which bumps you up to $268, in between the two price points mentioned above. But the value there is also substantially greater because there are a litany of additional benefits, such as Preferred Parking, 15% discounts, VIP area access, etc.

Sure, things cost more this/next season compared to the post-Gold pass nonsense, but to suggest that this represents some huge price increase compared to the longer pass pricing history is silly.

And to claim it is "price gouging" is outright ignorance.

What's next charging for each individual ride? Geez...

There was a time a long time ago (may have been on a predecessor site) that there were periodic discussions here about costs of various items at Cedar Point. Recurring one was the cost of a bottle of water. Think it was $3 or $4 at the time. There were some people here who thought that was highway robbery, gouging, immoral, etc. They refused to buy water in the park (some brought water in a cooler in their cars and went out when they wanted a drink). Others bought water in the park when they were thirsty.

Nature of price increases. Some people balk and stop buying. Others keep buying. In terms of upcharges for haunted houses, some passholders don't visit the park during HalloWeekends. Other people who visit don't care about haunted houses (be they included in the price, an upcharge, long lines or no lines at all). Some people who visit who like haunted houses visit the park once during HW and will pay the upcharge. Others who visit often will limit the number of visits where they pay the upcharge. Others will visit multiple times and pay the upcharge each time. And there will be some people who like haunted houses but will refuse to pay any upcharges for them. Some will swear off buying passes or visiting the park ever again. Again, nature of price increases.

My father in law reportedly on the drive home from their annual visit to Cedar Point (40-45 years ago) added up everything he had spent that day and declared Cedar Point to be a rip off and vowed to never return (he hasn't). Its what happens when you increase prices.

Your father's reaction was presented by Snickers.

Procedural question on how the $10.00 or more purchase is monitored: If you pre-purchase for a selected date I suppose it will show up on your phone CP app. Then what, will they have an attendant to scan your phone at each queue entrance? Or, will you be forced to obtain some sort of wristband or paper ticket from one of those booths at the front of the park that usually have agonizingly long lines?

Either way, I suppose it means an extra entry attendant on duty at each Haunt, one to allow you in the queue, as well as the door person.

^Seems like these could be wristbands redeemed at the same place as FastLane bands.

While I understand how people might be annoyed about having to pay for something that up until now has been included at no cost, I still find myself chuckling about the responses to the pricing structure.

Six Flags: Offers new season passes at potentially the lowest price ever
Community: IT'S TOO CHEAP

Six Flags: Adds upcharge to additional Halloween offerings

Community: STOP PRICE GOUGING

I guess we just don't like change.